Originally from São Paulo, Brazil, Patino played rugby and also trained in judo before being introduced to Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 1992, later earning his black belt in 1998. Energetic and hyperactive as a child, Patino earned the nickname Macaco because of his love for climbing trees.
Patino started to compete in vale tudo fights in the year 1995, defeating three opponents in the Circuito de Lutas 1 independent event. Macaco went on a winning track, defeating many opponents, until he was knocked out by João Bosco in Torneio dos Gladiadores 2, his second opponent in the night. Afterwards, Jorge went on to fight in the BVF 6: Campeonato Brasileiro de Vale Tudo 1 event, where he defeated Anderson Lima by knockout, Erico Correia by submissions due to strikes, and then faced José Landi-Jons, also known as Pelé, in a historic battle. After nearly 15 minutes of fighting, Pelé defeated Macaco, making him submit to strikes. The two then had a rematch, which was again won by Landi-Jons. Patino is managed by Wade Hampel of Big Fight Management.
Fighting abroad
Macaco was then signed to the UFC, where he faced the Welterweight Champion Pat Miletich at UFC 18: The Road to the Heavyweight Title. The champion successfully defended his title, defeating Patino by unanimous decision. Macaco then went on to fight in Japan for the DEEP promotion, drawing a match with Daisuke Ishii. His next two fights happened in Brazil, for the Meca World Vale Tudo promotion, where he faced Gustavo "Ximú" Machado. Jorge had cut his foot while playing soccer, and had to go to the fight still in stitches and bandages. Ximú capitalized on the opportunity, and defeated Patino with a heelhook, later granting a rematch to his opponent. Afterwards, in Meca World Vale Tudo 8, Luiz Cláudio das Dores faced Macaco, but the fight was set as a No Contest due to a bad call by the referee. In 2003, for the first Jungle Fight event, Macaco faced Ronaldo Souza, better known as Jacaré. Patino knocked out Ronaldo in the first round of the fight, which was Jacaré's mixed martial arts debut. Afterwards, Macaco then returned to Meca, defeating Luiz Brito at Meca World Vale Tudo 10 by a split decision. Afterwards, he fought for the Japanese promotion Pride FC, in its Pride Bushido 3 event, where he faced Kazuo Misaki. Misaki won by unanimous decision, and this was the end of Jorge Patino's stint with PRIDE. After Nate Moore had to withdraw from his fight against Brazilian Jiu Jitsuworld championAndré Galvão in Strikeforce, Patino took the fight in short notice for the event. However, he was defeated in the third round due to strikes.
Legacy Fighting Championship
In his debut with Legacy FC, Patino defeated Pete Spratt via split decision on September 16, 2011 to win the Welterweight Championship at Legacy FC 8. On December 16, 2011, he fought Mike Bronzoulis and won by unanimous decision, to defend his title in the main event at Legacy FC 9. On May 11, 2012, Patino dropped to the Lightweight division in order to face Jesus Rivera in the main event of Legacy FC 11, to fight for the vacant Lightweight Championship. However the day before the fight was scheduled to take place, Rivera backed out of the fight and newcomer Clay Hantz took the fight on short notice. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. Patino successfully defended the title one time before losing it to Carlos Diego Ferreira in November 2013.
World Series of Fighting
In early 2014, Patino joined the World Series of Fighting organization. He faced Luis Palomino in his debut and lost via knockout. In November 2015, Patino was one of participants of WSOF's one night Lightweight tournament. He faced Islam Mamedov in the quarterfinals and lost via unanimous decision. Mamedov, however, was injured and Patino replaced him in the semifinals against Joáo Zeferino. He lost that fight by submission in the first round.
